The Wisdom of Youth

Do I feel hammered when I'm nailed by someone's honesty or do I accept that person's good advice?

     While I would love to be able to say that I am always able to accept someone's good advice, it wouldn't be true. I have faults, this I accept. The trouble comes when I forget that and believe myself to be some kind of altruistic, faultless person. It isn't true. I'm just as bad, if not worse, than a lot of other people. I make snap judgments, let my temper get away from me, say the wrong things to people. I make mistakes, and I become embarrassed when someone else catches me on it and says something. I get mad, which makes the situation worse. I clam up, which does nothing for the situation, either. I have to make a serious attempt to not do those kinds of things.

     When someone nails you with their honesty, look at it like a blessing. It's an opportunity to become someone better than who you currently are.

When to Say When

In my eagerness to make friends, I sometimes go overboard by...

talking too much. I tend to run off at the mouth and I also tend to believe that people care about my opinion more than they do. When I get nervous, I talk incessantly. I find this to be problematic because people sometimes can't get a word in themselves. I have to remind myself to let others talk and to not let my opinion run wild in the room.

Remember to let others speak and you might learn a little something from them. I have. Later.

Getting a Tune-Up

My heart needs to be cleaned and repaired from the damage caused by...

Where to begin... I've done a lot of bad things in my life, from drugs/alcohol abuse to physically damaging other people. Even though I've turned around and turned away from those kinds of things, I still deal with the thoughts of wanting to do them today. I have anger issues, I know this. However, since having Cerena three years ago, I've made a concentrated effort to control my anger. I don't want her to see me as an angry person. I want her to know that I love her and that I care for her. My heart needs to be cleaned and repaired from the damage of my past life. My family is not the greatest, but whose is? I want my own little family, that of my wife, my daughter, and I, to be better than the one I had growing up.

We all have baggage that we carry. Whether it is caused by things of our own doing, or things others have done to us, we still carry it. We need to ask God, our heartmaker, to heal us and repair us from this damage. Take care to do this, and life will get better. I promise. Later.

Gift and Giver

I need a spirit of generosity and a willingness to give when it comes to...

My wife and daughter. I find myself so often wanting to only do my own things and not the things they want me to do with them. I need to get over that and offer so much more of my time to them. They deserve it. I love them both and should be far more willing to give of myself to them as a result. Again, they deserve it and I am going to give it. It's time to take away the toys I constantly play with and start giving my attention where it belongs, to my family.

Remember, your loved ones don't always need you to give them any more than your time. All the gifts in the world cannot make up for the time that's wasted when we only pursue selfish endeavors. Give your time and you won't be disappointed.